CHEERFUL CARNIVALSaturday, 10 February 2018 (11am - 9pm)

This celebration of cheerfulness brings all kinds of foolishness to the streets of Kranj to chase the winter away and call in the spring. The streets and places will be in bloom, traditionally painted in the colours of the carnival. On Saturday, 10 February, there will be a parade of masks through the historic town centre and the scent of doughnuts will be everywhere.

The children’s carnival with Pippi Longstocking on the Main Square will begin at 11am and will be followed by the traditional carnival parade at 2pm. This event attracts thousands of visitors each year; it starts at the Town Library and goes all the way to the Prešeren Theatre. Interesting folk art groups from Slovenia and abroad will take part in the parade, among them the Pehinarska gospoda from Rijeka and the Mesopustari from Kraljevica.

And of course, no carnival in Slovenia can be without the Kurenti, those harbingers of spring. This year, 150 of them will be seen (and heard!) in the streets of Kranj.There will be also the Škoromati, the Šejme from Vrbovo, and the black man with pincers who all the young women run away from.

This year, the parade of children’s costumes from kindergartens and elementary schools will be joining this traditional parade.